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Automotive Hall sensor includes LINbus

Integrated device replaces potentiometers in sensing tasks

The HAL 2810 is a linear Hall-effect sensor that includes a programmable microcontroller and a LIN bus 2.0 interface, and is the first in a planned family of smart sensor products. It integrates sensing element, compensation functions, digital signal processing and full LIN bus connectivity, to replace potentiometers in automotive applications. Applications include angular measurements fuel-level sensing and linear movement such as seat-track position; it is suited to passenger-weight detection by measurement the force on the seat attachment points, a measurement that automotive engineers use to adjust airbag deployment. Micronas says its is the first complete single-chip sensor solution integrating a LIN-bus physical layer. The sensor itself offers 12-bit resolution and features both spinning-current and second-order temperature compensation over a range of -40 to +140 °C. Included on-chip with the sensor is an 8-bit microcontroller with boot ROM, EEPROM, RAM, and the LIN bus slave interface, compatible with LIN Specification Package 2.0, supporting data rates of 10.4 kbps and 20 kbps. Sample rate can is from 27 to 54 samples per second. The boot ROM includes firmware to drive the LIN bus. With overvoltage and reverse-voltage protection on all three pins, the device can be connected directly to the bus. The device is user-programmable via the LIN bus. An application kit containing a programming board, LabView programming software and source code. In a TO-92UT package the devices costs $2.00 (10,000)